The Joys of Parenthood
by Black Lighted Clouds
Summary: Drabble mini-series. What happens when Kankuro, Temari, Kakashi and Iruka are force into roles of parenthood? Read to find out. Each story is independant from the other. Parental sandsibs, Kakasasu and Irunaru.
1. Parentage in the Sands Part 1

A/N: Hey, there! Usually, it's against my beliefs to write something else while I'm in the middle of a story, but I was looking up images on Google and I came across a really sweet sand sibling's picture that inspired me, so, here you go! Btw, I apologise for slow updating to my other story, but I'm stuck! Ideas would be nice, please!

This is set from before the Chunin Exams.

Parentage in the Sands

Part 1

A loud hammering on the large wooden doors echoed throughout the large stone room. The old man looked towards the door as it was suddenly flung open to reveal a young man wearing black with purple face paint.

"Grandpa Ebizu! Granny Chiyo! We need your help!" he declared hurriedly.

"What could your generation possibly need the help of withered old fossils like us for?" the old woman asked.

"It's Gaara! On our mission, an enemy ninja used some kind of freaky jutsu on him!" Kankuro explained.

"A jutsu? What kind of jutsu could possibly penetrate the sturdy shield of sand that is Shukaku's power?" Granny Chiyo scoffed.

Kankuro winced as he turned to face her. "He was killing all of their ninja, so the leader used this jutsu to stop him. He, um... he doesn't look so good... we have never seen this jutsu before, so we have no idea of how to change him back!"

"Change him back"? What do you mean by that?" Grandpa Ebizu asked curiously.

Kankuro turned and beckoned for them to follow. "Please, come see for yourselves!"

(In the Medical Treatment Room)

Granny Chiyo looked up at the two elder siblings. "I'm sorry, but there is nothing I can do."

"You mean he's stuck like this for the rest of his life?!" Temari cried in shock.

"No, no. He'll be fine. It should simply wear off after a couple of weeks." Granny Chiyo stated calmly. She reached into the wicker basket and withdrew the red-haired baby boy. She stretched her arms out and placed the newly transformed Gaara into Temari's arms.

"A couple of weeks?!" Kankuro shouted. "What are we supposed to do with him until he turns back into his normal self?!"

Granny Chiyo shrugged. "Look after him."

"What?!"

Granny Chiyo looked at him sternly. "Kankuro, be reasonable about this. He's still your little brother, after all. Besides, he can't kill you while he's stuck in this form, now can he?"

"Kankuro shrugged grumpily. "I suppose we can look after him... for now."

A/N: Okay, I know it's really short. This is just going to be a drabble-like miniseries for me to do when I can't think of any other fanfics to write. Once I'm done with the sand siblings, I thought I could move onto parental Kakashi and Sasuke and maybe parental Iruka and Naruto, too. Got any requests? If so, you know the drill:

READ AND REVIES, PLEASE!!


	2. Parentage in the Sands Part 2

A/N: This came to me just now, so don't complain if it's crap! Thank you to all my faithful readers, you are magnificent!

Parentage in the Sands: Part 2

Kankuro sat down on the couch in the living room of their section of the Kazekages' manor next to his equally exhausted sister. He had never thought this could be so tedious, let alone troublesome!

A sudden cry pierced the silence. Temari sighed and looked at Kankuro pleadingly. 'Oh, no,' Kankuro thought venomously. 'You won't trick me with that look again!'

"Not a chance in hell." He said, "It's your turn."

Temari scowled at him and stood, stretching her back as she did so. It had been a long day, and, considering Gaara didn't sleep, it was only about to get longer.

(Ten minutes later)

"For Christ's sake!" Kankuro bellowed, his hands clamped firmly on his ears. "Will you please shut him up?!"

Temari marched into the room, still holding the wailing child. "Why don't you give it a try?!"

Temari suddenly put Gaara down in the rickety old cot which had replaced his bed within his room and slammed the door shut, somewhat muffling the sound of Gaara's cries. She seized Kankuro's arm and dragged him into the kitchen. Now they couldn't hear anything from Gaara at all, though they knew he was still crying.

Kankuro looked from his elder sibling, through the doorframe of the kitchen to the heavy wooden door that concealed his younger sibling and back again.

"Uh... are you... supposed to do that when babies won't stop crying?" he asked apprehensively.

Temari sighed. "Probably not. But I can't possibly think of a way to calm him when he's screeching in my ears like that."

Kankuro frowned. "What do you mean you can't think of a way? Everything else you tried worked when he cried before."

Temari turned to him wearily. "That's the problem." She explained. "I've already tried everything I've already used and nothing's working."

Temari sighed as she sat down at the round pine table where they ate their meals. Kankuro just stared at her incredulously. "Everything? You've tried everything? And none of its worked?"

Temari shot him an annoyed look. "That's what I just said. I've tried changing him, burping him, washing him, feeding him, cuddling him... none of it worked."

Kankuro grunted. "Well, we've got to figure out something-"

Kankuro was struck with a sudden idea. There was no guarantee it would work, but... it was better than nothing.

"Kankuro?" Temari asked hesitantly. "Are you okay?"

"Follow me." He turned and marched into his room where he opened his closet door and began taking down the boxes on the top shelf, rifling through them as fast as possible.

"Kankuro, what are you looking for?" Temari inquired from her position in the doorway of Kankuro's bedroom.

"Aha!" Kankuro proclaimed triumphantly. He stood and turned, showing Temari what he had in his hands: a small wooden puppet.

It wasn't like the other puppets Kankuro used in his ninja arts. This puppet was more like a wooden doll than anything else.

Temari stared at it before turning to her brother in surprise. "What is that?"

Kankuro grinned sheepishly. "This is the first puppet I ever made. That's when I started to learn to be a puppet master, when I realised I had talent for it."

Kankuro strode purposefully passed his big sister, opened the door to Gaara's bedroom where the child was still wailing, leaned the doll over the edge and started to make it dance, about ten centimetres from the top of Gaara's head.

Gaara instantly quietened, staring up in curiosity at the object. Then he began to giggle, batting his small hands at it. Kankuro suddenly lost his grip on the dolls old worn strings, causing it to fall forward and hit Gaara directly on the nose.

Kankuro and Temari became statues, dreading the explosion of sound that was no doubt about to emerge from their baby brother's mouth. Instead, Gaara smiled and giggled once more. He now began to bat more vigorously at the contraption, as if to return the favour. The two elder siblings smiled simultaneously.

So now every time Gaara began to cry, Kankuro would distract him with the puppet while Temari would check to see what he needed. It worked out perfectly for all three of them.

A/N: I should only be writing one more part to the sand siblings section of this fanfic, then I'll move on to Sasuke and Kakashi.

READ AND REVIEW, PLEASE!!


	3. Parentage in the Sands Part 3

A/N: Gwenhyfer, I'd really appreciate it if you didn't write requests for one story while reviewing another, please, it's very confusing. I value your opinion, and to tell you the truth, I'm no good with writing Sand siblings stuff, the Uchihas' are more my area, but seriously.

btw, there's going to be parental Sasuke and Kakashi in the next chapter!

Parentage in the Sands: Part 3

The Kazekage stalked into the section of his manor where his three children lived, an annoyed scowl firmly set in place, same as always.

He was glad this whole tedious situation was about to be over. Gaara was a weapon, nothing more than that. Having him this current state was not only irritating, it put a hold on all the military operations that had been planned, he could not allow that to happen. It had already been two weeks since Gaara was transformed, it was about time for him to return to the form of the monster he truly is. He entered the door to his children's living room. And froze in shock.

Kankuro and Temari were sitting on the floor, facing each other while Gaara was seated in Temari's lap. Kankuro held a story book open, showing Gaara the pictures of Winnie the Pooh throwing a ball to Tigger as he read the story aloud. Gaara giggled and clapped as he cuddled up to Temari, who was helping Kankuro get the moral of the story into Gaara's head. They were the picture of a sweet, happy little family.

And it sickened the Kazekage to the core.

"What," he said in a dangerous voice. "are you doing?"

Kankuro and Temari were surprised to see their father in their section of the house, as engrossed with playing with Gaara as they had been.

Kankuro shrugged. "We're playing with Gaara. Is there something you wanted?"

The Kazekage glowered at the elder of his two sons. "Yes. We have found a cure to the jutsu used on Gaara. Come with me now and he will be normal again in less than ten minutes."

Kankuro and Temari stared in shock, looked at each other, and then down at Gaara, still perched in Temari's lap, biting the corner of the book, looking absolutely oblivious to the entire conversation going on just above his head.

"Um..." Temari hesitated, then looked at her father."Father, Kankuro and I don't want Gaara to be changed back. We like him this way."

The Kazekage was appalled to say the least. "What?! Are you out of your mind?! Why would you want him to stay this way?! You have to feed him and change him and put up with him crying, why would you want that?!"

Kankuro folded his arms across his chest and stared defiantly. "We've put up with all of those things for the past two weeks, it's not that difficult. Besides, he doesn't threaten to kill us on a daily basis like normal in this form. In fact, I think he likes us!"

To prove this point, Kankuro freed his hands and tickled Gaara's sides. In his normal form, nobody would have gotten close enough to do such a thing. Nobody would have even been brave enough. Gaara would have killed whoever attempted it without so much as batting an eyelash.

Now, however, Gaara giggled and squirmed in Temari's lap, eventually falling off and rolling all over the floor as Kankuro continued to tickled him mercilessly. (1)

"KANKURO!!" his father bellowed furiously. All three siblings abruptly stilled. The Kazekage was livid. "What are you doing?! Gaara in a weapon of mass terror and destruction, he is not to play silly little games with you two, nor is he to be tickled!!"

Gaara began to whimper in fear. Temari scooped him into her arms as she rose and rocked him gently, soothing him. Kankuro was very angry.

"What is the matter with you?!" he demanded of his father. "All you care about is military might! You don't care about me or Temari or Gaara! That was proven when you killed your own wife to implant the Shukaku in your own son!"

"How dare you!!" the Kazekage roared. "I will not be spoken to in this manner! I am the Lord Kazekage and you will show me the proper respect I deserve!"

Kankuro laughed bitterly. "Oh, but I am showing you the respect you deserve!! ZERO!!"

"Kankuro..." Temari whispered.

"You're a manipulative, lying bastard! Everyone in this stupid village treats Gaara like a monster! But they're wrong! There are only two monsters in this village: the Shukaku and YOU!!"

"Kankuro..." came Temari's whisper again.

"The Shukaku is within Gaara! He is a monster!"

"No, he's not! That's what this experience has taught us! Just because there is a monster within him, it doesn't mean he's one! Somewhere along the line, someone or something hurt him and that's what made him into the murderous person he is, but he's not a monster!" Kankuro declared bravely, he was sticking up for his little brother, for reasons he either didn't know or thought he might never understand.

"KANKURO!!" Temari screamed desperately.

"WHAT?!" both Kankuro and his father screamed in unison.

Gaara was changing. He was growing, faster than any normal human being should be able to. In a matter of seconds, he was his normal self again. It was lucky that Temari had been wrapping him up in full-sized towels, the type Kankuro used when he got out of the shower, or Gaara would have been absolutely naked.

Gaara looked around in surprise unable to remember where he was, or what had happened, or why he was missing his clothes.

"Well, I guess the treatment is no longer necessary." Lord Kazekage turned and stalked out of the room, leaving the three siblings alone.

"Um..." Temari said into the awkward silence. "Gaara, your, um... your clothes... I left some for you in your room."

Gaara stared at her.

"I-is something wrong?" she said hesitantly.

"What are you doing?" he gestured with his hand slightly. Temari realised she was still holding him really close to her body, as she had done when he was in his baby form. She squeaked and released him.

"O-oh... s-sorry, Gaara... I was just giving you a h-hug." She waited for Gaara to become enraged and kill her. But he didn't. He just stared down at his feet before turning to shuffle back into his room.

Kankuro and Temari shared a look. "Oh, what the hell!" Temari shouted. Gaara turned just as his siblings pulled him into a tight three-way hug. When they released him they didn't expect him to be happy with them and he wasn't. But he didn't slaughter them. That was a plus.

And so, though Gaara still seemed to despise them, Kankuro and Temari loved him as their brother, they just didn't show it. So after they invaded Konoha and Gaara got some sense beaten into him, things became a little bit better with their family. Their father was dead and Gaara was starting on a new path to become something better.

And Kankuro and Temari helped him every step of the way.

A/N: No, the fic is not over!! I've still got ideas to put into the next couple of chapters, but the actual Sand Sibling section is over. Next is parental Kakashi and Sasuke! I'm still debating on whether or not to have some parental Iruka and Naruto in the last few chapters, though. What do you think?

READ AND REVIEW, PLEASE!!

(1) I did this to Unicorn Sky Rider once when we were in sports class and we went onto the oval. She rolled in a full circle that had to be three metres long at least, it was so funny! LOL


	4. A Sharingan for a Sharingan Part 1

A/N: I'll probably end up finishing this fic before I finish Growing Up or Growing Together? even though I started that one before this. Also, I now know exactly what the plot of that one is, but I won't be updating soon, I think. Hey, don't complain, I'm giving you two chapters in one go!

btw, this part of the fic is more on the dramatic side than the Sand sibs! And it's in a different time frame from them as well, which I think is pretty obvious.

A Sharingan for a Sharingan: Part 1

Kakashi sat alone in his tiny apartment. 'What a mess.' He thought sadly. How had it come to this?

Flashback

Kakashi stared down at the defiant young Uchiha. He knew it had been a good idea to tie him down to the tree with his string before he even attempted to talk some sense into him.

"I won't give up!" Sasuke shouted. "I don't care what you say! I will destroy Itachi! I swore I would it a long time ago!"

Kakashi was beginning to get very angry. "Don't be stupid!" Kakashi tried to calm himself; he knew being angry wasn't going to affect Sasuke at all.

"Sasuke," he said in a far more calm voice. "I've seen kids like you before. Kids looking for revenge. And I'm telling you that it never ends well. If you stay down this path, you'll just end up even more miserable and alone than you are now."

Sasuke just snorted. "Whatever."

Kakashi could no longer contain his anger. "SASUKE!! Stop being a little brat and try to see clearly for once with your twisted little mind! You're doing what he wants! Itachi wants you to throw away your life chasing after him!"

Sasuke stared up at him. He looked devastated. But slowly his mask of anger returned.

SNAP

Sasuke had grabbed a kunai and snapped the string binding him tightly. He stood and walked right past Kakashi.

Looking over his shoulder, he said, "It's none of your business. Just leave me alone!"

'Oh, that is it!!'

Kakashi whirled around and seized Sasuke's arm, trapping him in his iron grip. "You are coming home, you are giving up this insane quest for vengeance and that is it!!"

"Who do you think you are, telling me to give up my dream?! Huh?! YOU'RE NOT ME FATHER!!" Sasuke shouted at him furiously. He turned and began to run.

"YES I AM!!" (1)

Sasuke froze. Ever so slowly, he turned and looked at the jonin. Kakashi had slapped both hands over his masked mouth. Sasuke could see he was trembling, ever so slightly.

Kakashi was horrified with himself. He had promised that he would never reveal this secret. He hadn't meant to. It just slipped out in his angry state. The genin and the jonin stared at each for who knew what amount of time.

"What," Sasuke began "the hell was that?"

Kakashi sighed. "Why do you think I agreed to take you on as my student? Why do you think I was so devastated when I thought Haku had killed you? Why do you think I've tried so hard to keep you from Orochimaru? Why I'm still trying? You're my son."

"No." Sasuke shook his head wildly, his fringe whipping from side to side. "No, you're not. You can't be!"

Kakashi took a few steps forward. "Think about it. Doesn't it make sense?"

Kakashi outstretched his arms as he walked forwards. Sasuke realised what he was trying to do when his arm was about a foot away from him. He stumbled backwards, away from Kakashi, as fast as he could. Kakashi was sure he could see tears welling in his eyes.

"If you're my father, why didn't you ever tell me? Why didn't you help me after everyone died?" Sasuke demanded. With every word, he got angrier and angrier. "What kind of father does that?! I think I was happier when I didn't know!"

Sasuke stopped abruptly. He dropped his head slightly, his face concealed behind his bangs. He was eerily calm. 

He slowly raised his head again. Kakashi nearly flinched from the look of pure hatred in the boys eyes. He knew that Sasuke only used a glare like that on one person. Itachi.

"I've had two fathers in my life and both of them abandoned me." He said, so quietly it was probably only meant for himself. None the less, Kakashi heard it.

"Sasuke-"

Too late, Sasuke had already run from him. He had no idea where he was going. But he knew that he was knew that he was the last person Sasuke wanted to see right now.

End Flashback

A pounding on his door awoke Kakashi from his daydreaming. The pounding continued, seeming rather desperate.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." He muttered grumpily. He was bowled over by a pink blur the second he opened the door.

Looking down, Kakashi gasped. "Sakura!! What's the matter?!"

Sakura was crying heavily. She looked up at her sensei and choked out. "S-Sasuke! I-I tried to stop him, but h-he..."

"What? Sasuke what? Sakura, tell me!" Kakashi urged.

Sakura coughed a little before saying, "He's going to O-Orochimaru!! He told me to g-give you a message..."

Kakashi frowned. "What message?"

Sakura opened her fist. On her open palm sat a folded piece of paper. Kakashi took it and very carefully opened it. There were five words written in Sasuke's familiar script:

I'm better off without you.

A/N: Yeah, I know it was mostly covered by the flashback. And yes, Unicorn Sky Rider, I do know that you think flashbacks are the scourge of the Earth. Tough luck for you.

(1) If anybody's ever seen the older episodes of the English show "Eastenders", this is from a fight with Kat and Zoe. I changed "mother" to "father" obviously. I never saw that particular episode myself, though (and I was probably the only person in the whole of Britain who didn't as well, dammit!)


	5. A Sharingan for a Sharingan Part 2

A/N: Thank you to eberyone who read and/or reviewed my story. Please do it again.

A Sharingan for a Sharingan: Part 2

"Kakashi!" Tsunade shouted in alarm at the Jonin's vicious behaviour.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura looked absolutely terrified. There had only been one other time when she had seen her sensei this bloodthirsty before; when he had battled with Zabuza.

Naruto couldn't even speak. What the hell was going on?

Kakashi ignored them all as he finished pummeling the sound ninja. Grabbing Kidomaru by the throat, he halled the multiple-armed shinobi to his feet, then lifted him off the ground so his feet dangled almost a metre above the ground. Looking up at the ninja he held by the throat with one hand, he spat out in a deadly voice,"Where. Is. SASUKE?!!"

Kidomaru choked as he tried to speak. Kakashi set him back on the ground and loosened his grip a little so he was no longer throttling the spider-like man. "What was that?"

Kidonaru gulped in a few gasps of air before saying, "Uchiha Itachi. He ambushed us as we attempted to force Sasuke to eat the pills to send him into second state. He beat the living shit out of us and took off with the kid."

Kidomaru's face suddenly met with the ground as Kakashi dropped him in shock. When the other three looked at him, he was as pale as a ghost and shaking.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"So that's the truth, huh?" Sasuke whispered, his voice sounding dead.

"Yes." Came the monotonous reply.

Sasuke jumped when Itachi wiped the tears currently gliding down his face away. His hand was so cold and this was an affectionate gesture which Sasuke had not had in many years and doubted he would ever get again.

"So. Now what are you going to do?" Itachi brushed a few stray strands of hair away from Sasuke's eyes.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke sounded confused. Itachi sighed.

"You can't go back to the village without having to go to Kakashi."

"I'd rather be a missing nin." Sasuke sounded so angry and bitter. Itachi remembered that twenty minutes ago, Sasuke had felt the same way about **him**.

"I'm not letting you go to Orochimaru."

Sasuke raised a skeptical eyebrow at his elder brother. "Oh, yeah? Why?"

Itachi looked away. "He's a peadophile. I refuse to have you anywhere near him."

Though grateful that he would now have an excuse to stay away from Orochimaru, Sasuke still had absolutely no clue as to what he should do now. "Well, have you got a better suggestion?"

"...Yes. When we came to capture Naruto, do you recall the organization I said Kisame and I belong to?"

Startled, Sasuke replied, "Yeah. You called it the "Akatsuki", but what does that have to do with anything?"

"You'll come with me into it's ranks. I have already spoken to our Leader. You are too young to be an actual member yourself, but you can be like Tobi, a replacement next time somebody dies and we have an opening." Itachi stood abruptly.

Looking down at the still shocked Genin he said, "Come." and began to walk away.

Seconds later, Sasuke follewed.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A/N: ...Yeah. R & R, please.


	6. A Sharingan for a Sharingan Part 3

**A/N: This is now set in the shippuden, after Naruto's return, before the recue Gaara arc.**

A Sharingan for a Sharingan: Part 3

"Are you sure you want this mission, Kakashi?" Tsunade said uneasily.

The silver-haired jonin nodded. He'd waited so long for this day, he was not about to pass the opportunity up now.

"Well..." though she thought this was a bad idea, she gave up trying to convince him otherwise, knowing it was in vain. "Alright. Here you go."

Taking the mission slip away from her, he bowed respectfully, and left Konoha in less than three minutes.

'Two years,' Kakashi thought. 'Two years since I lost you. You won't get away from me this time. I've finally found you, Sasuke.'

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"So this is Akatsuki headquarters,' Kakashi thought, creeping towards the ancient building. There were no guards; the organization must've thought no one would ever find them, way out here in the middle of nowhere.

Kakashi entered silently and crept across the hall, listening at every door he passed, hoping to hear Sasuke or Itachi either.

A dull murmur reached his ears. Listening more closely to the door it came from, Kakashi felt his blood boil when he heard Itachi's voice.

The masked man made a hand sign. "Invisibility Jutsu," he whispered. This was one of his father's stealth techniques.

The jonin smiled bitterly to himself when he remembered that this was invented so it wouldn't be used against their family. Funny how it was now being used against its creator's grandson.

Kakashi opened the dark wooden door quietly and slipped inside. His heart leapt in his chest when he saw who was inside: Itachi, a fellow member of Akatsuki and Sasuke.

As he watched, Itachi rose to his feet from the red couch and said, "Well, it's about time I go. I'll see you later, okay?"

Sasuke nodded. "See you, bro."

"Bye, Itachi-kun!" the other members shouted cheerfully.

Kakashi resisted the urge to attack the elder Uchiha as he walked passed; that would draw attention to himself, which he did not want.

When he was gone, Sasuke and the blonde member continued their conversation. Kakashi weighed his options; if he attacked while they were distracted quickly and quietly, he could knock the blonde unconscious, grab Sasuke and get out of here in one piece. But the flaw in that plan was that was the assumption that Sasuke would come obediently, which he most certainly would not.

The jonin suddenly jumped to the side as the blonde threw some kind of clay at him, which exploded against the wall.

'Shit! They know I'm here!' Kakashi had accidently released his jutsu when he reacted and was now staring into three confused eyes; one blue and two black.

"What the hell, un?!" the blue-eyed male shouted. He sucked in a deep breath to call for the other members. A pale hand shot out and covered his mouth.

Both Kakashi and Deidara (he had finally remembered his name now) stared in shock at the teenager.

"Kakashi." Sasuke stated. "What are you doing here?"

Deidara let out a muffled grunt of surprise.

"I'm taking you back to Konoha."

Sasuke snorted. Now that he had gotten over his initial surprise, he was looking at Kakashi with nothing but pure venomous loathing in his eyes. "Why's that? So you won't be burdened by your failure and you can go back to your perfect little life? Thanks, but no thanks. I'll stay here."

"Please." Kakashi pleaded, desperation dripping from his every word. "Please, Sasuke. Can we talk? Five minutes, that's all I ask, please."

Sasuke sighed. Then gestured to the door on the opposite side of the room.

Taking his hand away from Deidara's mouth, he said "Don't tell anyone, please." And he dragged Kakashi in the room. It turned out to be a rather spacious closet.

Sasuke leant against the wall and folded his arms, glowering at his father. "Well?"

"This isn't the right life for you."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Says you."

"Sasuke, think about what you're doing. I know for a fact that you're not a full-fledged member of Akatsuki. Yet. Now's the perfect time to leave. If you do become a member, you will be an official missing Nin. You can never return to Konoha."

"That doesn't seem so bad."

Kakashi felt like he was about to cry, he didn't have much time. He leaned forwards. "Listen to me, Sasuke. I hurt you. I was a pathetic father. You hate and resent me, I understand that. But this isn't just hurting me, you're throwing your life away."

"From your perspective, maybe I am. But I'm happy here."

Kakashi seized his son in an iron grip. "Please. Just think it over properly. Think of everything waiting for you in Konoha. Think of Naruto, he misses you so much. He doesn't even care about being Hokage anymore; all he wants is you home. And Sakura misses you so, so much. I don't know why you like it here so much, but please. Think about it, long and hard."

Kakashi released Sasuke from his powerful grip and sighed heavily. "Meet me at the border of Suna, in one weeks time, noon. Tell me your decision then."

The closet door was suddenly flung open by an agitated looking blonde. "Time's up, un."

Kakashi stepped out of the closet and went to leave. "Choose wisely, Sasuke."

And he was gone in a flurry of leaves.

Deidara stared at Sasuke. "What the hell was all that about, un?!!"

Sasuke looked at his friend out o the corner of his eyes. "Deidara, please don't say anything. Especially to Itachi."

"But-"

"I'm begging you, Deidara. Please."

"..." Deidara sighed regretfully. "This is not gonna end well. Oh, I promise."

"Thank you."

**A/N: Okay, I've got a big decision for you guys: how to end this section of my fic. If you choose **Tragedy,** I know what I'm going to do. If you choose **Happily Ever After**,**** I'll need some time to think, but I'll do it. Majority rules. So, get reviewing, please! **


	7. A Sharingan for a Sharingan Part 4

**A/N: I tried to make this as tragic as I could while keeping some sense of happiness about to make everybody happy, without resorting to alternate endings. This is the last chapter of Sharingan.**

A Sharingan for a Sharingan Part 4

Pein smirked at the silver-haired jonin before bringing down his katana. "Time to die, Kakashi Hatake!"

The sound of the blade slamming into and tearing flesh rang through the air, the gasp of pain from the victim followed by the splatter of fresh blood seeming to be the only things that mattered as the world stopped for the masked man.

Pein let out a horrified shriek of agony as he and his other five bodies were burnt to cinders. Kakashi rushed forward and caught Sasuke as he fell, staring at the bloodstained gleaming katana protruding from his chest.

"You fool," Kakashi whispered as he looked in his only child's pale face, a small trail of blood flowing down his chin from his mouth. "You stupid fool! Why did you take the blow?! You're too young to die! After all I've done in my life; I deserve this, not you! Please don't die..."

The tears ran freely down both of their faces. Sasuke smiled weakly. "You know as well as I do that that's impossible. I'm going to die here. I'm s-sorry I left... I was just so angry that night... forgive me."

Kakashi choked on his tears. "D-don't be an idiot... I-I won't let you die..."

Sasuke drew in a breath before speaking, every word causing him pain. "Look after Naruto for me. I-I never got to tell him... how m-much I l-love him..."

"Sasuke..."

"St-stop hunting Itachi... I love my big brother... I owe him so much..." Sasuke felt the cold aura of death creeping up on him.

"N-no, Sasuke..."

"I... I love you... Dad." Kakashi felt his heart shatter in his chest as his only son slipped out of this world just as his eyelids slipped close over his midnight black eyes before they lost their light.

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Kakashi looked down at the crumbling white snake skin in his hands. He vaguely recalled something his father had once said to him when he was young.

"White snake skin is a sign of reincarnation. Of new life. To find it on your mother's grave means that she has returned to this world, to live again and watch over us."

Kakashi felt emotions he had not felt for a very long time; hope and happiness flooded his heart. This snake skin had been on Sasuke's grave, a year to the day since he had died in his father's arms.

Kakashi turned to go home with a new lightness in his heart. 'My boy has returned, at last. I hope that, this time around, you have a father worthy of you, and a good and happy life. I love you, my son. In this and every other life. I pray we meet again.'

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**A/N: I got this idea from the shippuden chapter where Sasuke killed Orochimaru and the snake Sannin had a flashback from when he was young at his parents' graves with the Third Hokage.**


	8. Happy Family

**A/N: It's depressing to kill your favourite character as I did in the last chapter, so here's some nice parental stuff. It's set just after Tsunade's appointment as Hokage, a few days before the Sasuke retrieval arc. Enjoy!**

Happy Family

Naruto walked home cloaked in a sad stupor. He had managed to hide it all through the wedding, but it was coming out now.

When Iruka first announced that he and Shizune were engaged to be married, Naruto was the first to jump for joy and congratulate the happy couple. But then it occurred to him; if Iruka was married to Shizune, wouldn't he want to spend all of his time with her? Wouldn't that mean that there wouldn't be any more time for Iruka to spend time with him? And so the depression set in.

He already felt like he was losing Sasuke, his rival and best friend got more and more distant with every passing day. Naruto was sure he couldn't handle losing Iruka-sensei too, that would be too much.

Naruto sighed, put his key in the lock and entered his apartment. The moment he stepped in, however, everything went dark.

"Ack-!" he cried. "What the hell!"

The hands were lifted from his eyes and he turned to see the smiling medic. He stared in shock.

"Shizune?" Even if he was upset about Iruka, he couldn't be mad at Shizune, she was just too sweet. "I thought you and Iruka-sensei left for your honeymoon."

The dark-haired kunoichi grinned and giggled. "Not before we gave you a little present first." She looked over the top of the blondes head. "Right, honey?"

"Absolutely."

Naruto turned as his ex-sensei walked over to him and handed him a piece of paper. Naruto frowned before reading over it.

He dropped the document. "Y-you... want t-to... adopt me?"

Shizune walked around him to hug Iruka who returned her embrace with a bright smile. "Yes. We were talking about it last night, and we decided that we didn't want to have a family that didn't include you. So how about it? You don't have to call us "mother" and "father", or whatever, but we'd love to be a family."

The trio hit the ground with a thud. "YES!!!!!!!!!"

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**A/N: Yeah, this is just a really short one-shot to wrap up the Joys of Parenthood series. Hope you liked it.**


	9. Parental KakaSasu Alternate Ending

**A/N: This was the original plotline of the parental Kakashi/Sasuke of The Joys of Parenthood, and I quite like it so I thought I would publish it anyway.**

**A Sharingan for a Sharingan Part 2 (Alternate ending)**

The tension in the room was overwhelmingly uncomfortable. Naruto and Sakura ate their food quietly, glancing up constantly to look at either Kakashi or Sasuke. Kakashi wasn't eating, his posture was hunched over and he kept his eye on his dark haired student at all times, an aura of nervousness almost dripping off of him. Sasuke had finished eating a while ago and was now leaning back in his chair, his arms folded, glaring up at the ceiling with terrible venom unbefitting a person his age.

Soon Sakura and Naruto were finished eating, standing up to leave. Sakura was still for about twenty seconds, her eyes darting from her teammates to her sensei constantly before she left the room hurriedly. Naruto walked straight to the door, not looking back until he already had one foot out of the house. He shot Kakashi a look that nearly shouted "Don't let him out of your sight," and closed the door behind him after a look of attempted deep searching was sent towards Sasuke.

"Lady Tsunade told you to watch me and make sure that I didn't run off, right?" Sasuke shot at Kakashi without looking.

Kakashi sighed. "No, actually. I'm here because I want to be. And I'm not going anywhere." Though he sounded confident, the silver-haired shinobi had a sinking feeling that this was all futile.

Sasuke grunted and rose from his seat. Kakashi tensed, ready to leap and tackle Sasuke if the boy had any ideas about trying to run. Instead, the Uchiha heir walked to the opposite door through which his friends had departed and said, "I'm going to bed," over his shoulder.

Once he was gone, Kakashi sat down in one of the living room chairs, mulling over the nights events in his head. Once Sakura had informed him that Sasuke had left, he immediately informed Lady Tsunade, who had set off with him to prevent Sasuke from going through with his horrible choice. When they had finally caught up to him, Kakashi had forcibly dragged Sasuke all the way back o Konoha while the Hokage sent the Sound Ninja Four flying back to Orochimaru through a reversed summoning jutsu.

Something weighed down heavily on Kakashi's mind; halfway through the process of retrieving him, Sasuke stopped struggling. For no apparent reason. 'It doesn't make any sense,' Kakashi thought in confusion, trying and failing to figure out what had caused his student to suddenly stop fighting.

Kakashi leapt to his feet, kunai held to be used for attack or defence, whichever he needed it for. His keen senses had detected that small thumping noise, so quiet that only a ninja of Kakashi's prowess would be able to detect it. Creeping as quietly as possible, Kakashi quickly stood by the doorframe; listening intensely for any other sound.

There it was again: a tiny, barely audible thump. Kakashi opened the door and dashed up the stairs. Opening another door, Kakashi was stunned by what he saw: Sasuke had indeed gone to bed he had told the truth. He had kicked the blanket down so his torso was revealed; lying on his back, hands curled into fists with arms spread wild, hair in wild disarray.

The jonin lowered his kunai and stood beside the sleeping boy. It was only when Sasuke mumbled in his sleep and turned his head to face him did Kakashi realise something was wrong. Sasuke was frowning and muttering in an angry tone. He began to fidget, moving far more than a sleeping person should. The boy started panting heavily, his face twisting into different expressions over and over again. In a matter of seconds, his face and body showed signs of frantic panic, sweat beginning to cling to his pale skin.

'He's having a nightmare,' Kakashi realised. Kakashi began to feel rather panicked himself. After all, Sasuke was his son . . . he was supposed to offer comfort when Sasuke needed it. But what should he do? What could he do? Should he wake him up?

Sasuke began to flail around wildly, muttering even louder in a scared, almost hysterical voice. If Kakashi was panicky before, it didn't even compare to what he felt now. He had to do something, and fast, but what? Then Sasuke spoke, "Orochimaru . . ."

Kakashi froze. Sasuke was dreaming of Orochimaru . . . ?

Sasuke continued. " . . . No, I don't . . . don't wanna go . . . don't wanna serve . . . you . . ."

Kakashi felt even more confused than ever. And just a little bit happy. Could it really be true? Was Sasuke glad Kakashi and Tsunade had stopped him? Did he honestly not want to serve Orochimaru? He had no answers to any of these questions.

Sasuke carried on. "I wanna . . . go home . . . I . . . Where's . . . Where's my dad? Ka . . . Kakashi?"

Kakashi felt his heart leap in his chest. Before he could rethink his actions, Kakashi leant down and hugged his still frantic son. Rather than scare him further, the embrace appeared to be calming to the raven-haired genin. Kakashi backed off, keeping his hand on Sasuke's face to continue soothing him as he muttered softly, "It's alright, Sasuke. It's okay. I'm here, son."

After a few long minutes, Sasuke was peaceful again. Still, Kakashi stayed with him, touching his face, ready to soothe him if he got panicked again. Sasuke's eyes opened without warning.

Both ninja simply stared at each other before Sasuke said shakily, "What a-are you doing? How long have you been there?"

Kakashi swiped his thumb along Sasuke's jaw line, attempting the same calming gestures he had already used as he could see Sasuke was getting jumpy. "Long enough. You were having a nightmare. I was trying to calm you."

Sasuke frowned. "Why? Why would you bother to help me?"

Kakashi sighed. "You're my son. It's my job to calm you and help you. That's what parents do when their children need them."

Sasuke jerked away from Kakashi's still stroking hand. He snorted. "You've never bothered before."

Kakashi looked at the floor in shame. "Sasuke . . . I'm so sorry for what I did. I'm trying to make up for it. Besides . . . you asked for me. You said, "Where's my dad? Kakashi?" You wanted my help."

Sasuke stared at him hard before looking away.

"Well . . . if you want company later on . . . I'm in the living room." Kakashi left the room slowly, easing the door shut quietly. 'I wonder if he'll want my company, mine of all people's . . . ever,' though he highly doubted the possibility, Kakashi tried his best to keep his hopes alive.

Two Hours Later

Kakashi lay perfectly still on the recliner armchair, trying to force sleep to come. He peeked at the clock. One a.m. He sighed and shifted slightly. Then stilled. Was that a foot on the stairs he heard? Was Sasuke coming down?

He was, for a few seconds later, the door eased open silently and said boy peeked out. He walked slowly towards Kakashi, his feet not making a sound, stopping only when he was right next to Kakashi, where he hesitated, uncertainty shadowing his features for a moment.

Kakashi looked at him. Sasuke jumped, he must have thought his father was asleep. Kakashi wiggled to the left, opening up a space besides him on the chair, stretching out his right arm in a welcoming gesture. Sasuke hesitated once more, then crawled up onto the chair, in his father's arms and fell asleep after short amount of time.

Kakashi remained awake long enough to think 'Well, this is certainly progress,' before he too fell into a peaceful slumber.

**A/N: The nightmare and Kakashi comforting Sasuke thing is an idea given to me by Gwenhyfer, originally for Amnesia. Do you like this ending, or the actual one better? R and R, please.**


End file.
